The event strives for tighter police-neighborhood relationships to create a safer, more connected community
Chief of Police Patrick Gurcsik believes this year will be the largest National Night Out in Washington Township history as the event moves from multiple locations across the town to a central location at Washington Lake Park on Aug. 1.
National Night Out, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, is an annual community-building campaign that aims to connect neighbors with neighbors and promote police-community partnerships to create a safer, more caring place to live.
Hosting the event at multiple locations in previous years caused unsuccessful turnouts, Gurcsik said, resulting in a disconnect between community members and their neighbors from different areas of town.
“In the past, with having so many locations, there was a disconnect between neighbors,” Gurcsik said. “Having National Night Out in one location, we are able to provide something for everyone and most importantly, an opportunity to come together as a community in one location.”
Gurcsik said the centralization of the event will prevent officers from being scattered throughout different locations across the town, and instead provide a heavy police presence in the park. Without a downtown district within Washington Township, Gurcsik said Washington Lake Park was the best option as it is ‘the heart and soul of our town.’
The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., including attractions for all members of the community. Attendees can expect bounce houses, a 24-foot slide, face painting, balloon artists, DJ music, K9 demonstrations and a free barbeque, grilled by officers of the Washington Township Police Department. Emergency vehicles will also be on site for residents and children to view and enter for a closer look.
“National Night Out provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances — my mission for our agency with more community outreach,” Gurcsik said.
According to the NATW founder and executive director Matt Peskin, National Night Out began as a symbolic event, inviting neighbors to sit on their front porch, turn on their porch light and get to know the people who made up their neighborhood, along with the local cops who patrolled their area of the community. Over time, Peskin said, the novelty of the porch light wore off and the push toward neighborhood festivals grew as an effort to encourage residents out of their homes and to become engaged with the people and law enforcement officers who make up their communities.
“People are beginning to realize the old days when people knew their neighbors and the cops on the beat, that was a much safer time because everyone knew each other,” Peskin said. “A lot has changed since then. When a neighborhood tightens, criminals keep out.”
According to the police department website, www.washingtontwppolice.org, last year’s National Night Out event across the globe welcomed more than 15,000 communities and more than 36 million people worldwide.
Interested vendors should call Gurcsik’s office at (856) 589–6664, and register with Cathy Fiorile via email at cfiorile@pd.twp.washington.nj.us. National Night Out will be cancelled if there is inclement weather. There is no rain date scheduled. For more information on NATW or National Night Out’s worldwide impact, visit www.natw.org.
